Wednesday, May 31, 2006

This
is a book about opposites ... sort of ... Well, there's a thin sheep on
a see saw with a wide sheep; and a sun sheep lying on a blanket in
sunnies, and a rain sheep doing an impression of Gene Kelly in Singing
in the Rain; but there are also wind and wave sheep; bath and bed
sheep; swing and slide sheep; and so on. But where is the green sheep?

I had the good fortune of hearing the author, Mem Fox, read this book:
she got more and more "annoyed" at the elusiveness of the green sheep
until, finally, she turned the page and revealed it, sleeping
peacefully on a flower-filled hillside.

Judy Horacek's illustrations
are cute, funny and full of imagination and original ideas. Never have
sheep been so full of character - no followers, every one here is a born leader!

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

I like this picture, from the Guardian Unlimited, of the Guardian Hay Festival. I've been looking at the programme and thinking, "One day our festival will be as good. One day it will be even better."

I've been to Hay-On-Wye once and the town is really a book-lover's dream-come-true. Almost every building is a bookstore and when I was there I found stacks of incredibly cheap secondhands, including a complete set of Moomin books for about a pound each.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

I've been trying to catch up on everything since returning from my fabulous trip to Sydney.

My "must-read" pile is huge and today I started listing all the authors and illustrators I have lined up for interviews and I stopped myself when I got to the 10th name because, as interesting and enjoyable as it's going to be, the thought of interviewing that many people made my head spin a little.

One of the authors/illustrators I have on my list is Shaun Tan whose name I came across today when catching up with the Read Roger blog. Roger Sutton wrote, in the comments section, "I remember seeing The Rabbits and thinking it was too contextually tied to its country of origin to make much sense to children here" to which I replied ... well, you can read what I wrote here and also the post that prompted the discussion in the first place.

Friday, May 19, 2006

I've been super busy with work so haven't had time to update this blog much - sorry!

Anyway, I thought I'd post some photos I took with authors and illustrators whom I met when I was in Australia for the children's book conference.

As I mentioned in one of my posts in my personal blog, I felt like a groupie at the book conference - well, it was so exciting seeing all this people whose books I love so, if you're a book fan you'll understand exactly how I felt.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

I suspected as much, having read a handful of titles over the last couple of years, but I had no idea how rich and diverse the selection actually is until my recent trip to Sydney.

(I came home with a huge haversack stuffed full of books and my back is still creaking from the experience - you should have seen the look of disbelief on the stewardess's face when she helped me stow the bag in the overhead compartment!)

For every Mem Fox there are many, many more Australian authors (and illustrators) who are unknown and simply unavailable in Malaysia. Hopefully, this will change as the interviews I've done are published and we get the bookstores (ie Kino) to bring in the books.

I will also be talking about Australian books, authors and illustrators on this blog and in my weekly column. This week is a bit crazy though, not least cos I have three stories due, including one about Popular Bookshop's book festival, Read @ Malaysia (27 May-4 June). It's a huge event and likely to be a yearly one, which is exciting news for any book lover. This year, the focus is mainly on Chinese books, but the organisers hope that this will change over time.

Look out for the article this Sunday (21 May), in Star Mag.

PS And, yes, I will be choosing a picture book for May soon. Very soon. I promise.

Friday, May 05, 2006

A speedy post to say that the book conference has been wonderful so far and Sydney is beautiful.

The weather has been glorious - sunny and crisp - and the people have been amazingly kind, helpful and friendly.

A local children's author, Susanne Gervay, has taken me under her wing and has been more than generous with her time and resources.

Through her I have met many Australian writers and illustrators and made contact with publishers, distributors and other industry people whom I need to speak to for my articles. They'll also be marvellous contats to have for the festival, and my own writing.

I feel so inspired by everyone I've met and spoken to, and also incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm and generosity of the people within the writing community towards each other's efforts.

I also feel very encouraged and hopeful about the writing and publishing of children's books in Malaysia. I really think that with time and effort, we will be able to grow as vibrant an industry and community as Australia has. All it will take is patience and passion.